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Nan and Ann 

In 

Thrift Town 



They Found Two Four-Leafed Clovers 
















































NAN and ANN 

In Thrift Town 

J>y 

Laura Rountree Smith 



D On oh vc e. 


Chicago. 


C. Company 

/Lew York. 
























COPYRIGHT 

1 

1925 

M. A. DONOHUE & CO. 


©C1A858641 


MADE IN U. S. A. 


CONTEXTS 


Chapter I. A Fourth of July Adventure . . 7 

Chapter II. The Value of Money .... 27 

Chapter III. Investing Money and the Little 
Log House.46 

Chapter IV. Saving Clothes. The Wonderful 
Trunk .84 

Chapter V. Saving Every-Day Things and a 
Merry Christmas.95 

Chapter VI. Home Again—A Chapter of Sur¬ 
prises .121 











* 









V 












Nan and Ann in Thrift Town 


CHAPTER I. 

A FOURTH OF JULY ADVENTURE. 

“What day is this?” asked Nan one morn¬ 
ing, as she was the first to wake up. 

Her twin sister, Ann, responded sleepily, 
“It is Friday, I think.” 

“WHAT DAY IS THIS?” asked Nan 
again merrily, and Ann became wide awake 
and cried, “It is the Fourth of July!” 

Sure enough, it was the Fourth of July, 
and Platteville was going to celebrate, and 
Nan and Ann were going to drive to Platte¬ 
ville with Sammy Slow-Coach, the old col¬ 
ored man who had lived so long he said he 
could see forward and backward at the same 
time! 

“What are we going to wear?” asked Ann, 
and Nan said excitedly, “How are we going 
to get there? ’ 


7 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


How, indeed, were they going to get there? 
for their old farm horse was lame, and their 
car and ponies had not yet come from their 
old home in Tennessee. 

The Twins put on their rosebud muslin 
dresses and their rosebud hats, and they 
looked so alike that they laughed into the 
mirror and said, “It’s a good thing we can 
tell ourselves apart, for every one says we 
look as much alike as two peas, and surely 
no one can tell us apart today!” 

Nan said, “I do wish we would have an 
adventure before the day is over.” And Ann 
said, "I do wish we would meet a Knight, 
Elf, or Fairy!” 

Just then the Twins, ran out-doors to get 
a breath of air before breakfast and wasn’t 
it funny at exactly the same moment as they 
looked down, they found two four-leaved 
clovers! 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


They said happily, 

“One is for luck and one for pluck, 

The four-leaved clovers see, 

One is for luck and one for pluck, 

Good luck for you and me.” 

Now, do you suppose they had good luck 
that Fourth of July? Just listen and you 
shall hear what happened. 

Father said, “You look like two rosebuds 
to-day and I wish you a happy Fourth of 
July; and here is a round, shining silver 
dollar for each of you.” 

That was the first lucky thing that hap¬ 
pened, for it is fun to have money to spend, 
of course. 

Then Mother said, “Here are two red, 
white and blue picnic baskets, and they are 
already packed for lunch.” 

That was the second lucky thing that hap¬ 
pened. 

Just as they sat down for breakfast Sammy 
Slow-Coach appeared at the window and said, 


10 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


“We-all cannot get to Platteville to-day to 
witness the Fourth of July celebration, for 
there appears no way to get there!” 

He went on to say that the white horse 
was lame, and the black horse was off his 
feed, and the old colored man looked down¬ 
hearted and sorrowful indeed. 

Uncle Phil, who sat at the breakfast table 
making a frog-shaped figure, out of his nap¬ 
kin said, 


“I really admire each rosebud gown, 

I can tell you a way to get to town, 

It is the Fourth of July you see, 

But no one seems to notice me.” 

The Twins threw their arms round Uncle 
Phil’s neck and kissed him and said, “Really 
and truly, we did forget to say good morning 
to you Uncle Phil, and can you suggest a way 
of our getting to town? You know we left 
our ponies in Tennessee and our bicycles are 
not here yet either.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


11 


“Do tell us how we can get to Platteville in 
time to see the big Parade,” continued the 
Twins. 

Uncle Phil said, 

“Sammy Slow-Coach can wheel you there, 

Over the meadows green and fair, 

Do not laugh now for just a minute, 

Think of a wheel-barrow with Twins in it.” 

They all laughed, of course, for they sim¬ 
ply could not help it, and Sammy Slow-Coach 
shook all over; and Big Brother Mark came 
in and said, “There is a wheel-barrow at the 
door. Tell me, please, what is the big idea?” 

Such fun as they had, laughing and talking 
and planning how to get to Platteville for 
the Fourth of July; and Nan and Ann took 
their picnic baskets and sat in the wheel¬ 
barrow and old Sammy Slow-Coach wheeled 
them away, and Nan and Ann cried to the 
rest of the family, “We hope you will get 
a ride, too!” 


12 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Now, wasn’t it funny, they had not been 
gone ten minutes when their farm neighbors, 
the Griswold Brothers, came by with their 
fastest team, and asked the rest of the family 
to ride, so they got to Platteville before the 
Twins did, after all. But perhaps this was 
just as well, because the family were not 
always looking for an adventure as Nan and 
Ann were! 

When they got to Platteville everything 
suggested a glorious Fourth of July. There 
were flags everywhere and the buildings were 
decorated with bunting, and there were 
crowds and crowds of people on the streets, 
and in the windows waiting for the big 
Parade to pass. 

Did you ever stand on one foot, and then 
on the other, waiting for a Parade to begin? 

Did you ever know a Parade that was to 
come at ten o’clock to start before eleven? 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


13 


The Twins felt just that way about the 
Parade when it got to be ten, and ten-thirty, 
and then it was that their real adventure 
began. 

Someone tapped Ann on the shoulder and 
said, “Our Goddess of Liberty has been taken 
ill and she has failed us at the last minute.” 

“Who ever heard of a Goddess being ill?” 
murmured Ann, and Nan stared at the 
stranger. 

The person who had tapped Ann on the 
shoulder said, “This is the very thing. How 
lucky we are! We can have a Goddess after 
all to-day on our float.” All this sounded 
like Greek, of course, to the girls. 

Pretty soon the stranger suggested that 
one of the Twins ride in the float in the 
parade where the Goddess of Liberty was 
needed. 

“We can’t see the parade then,” said Ann. 


14 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


“It will be fun to be in it, though.” sug¬ 
gested Nan. 

The stranger saw that they looked exactly 
alike, so she suggested that Ann ride in the 
parade up-street, and that Nan should be at 
that point and change places with her as the 
parade came back, and that no one would 
know the difference. 

She took the girls off in a great hurry and 
dressed them exactly alike in white cheese¬ 
cloth dresses with gilt belts, and they wore 
gilt crowns that looked like crowns of gold. 

Nan was to ride down-street and Ann was 
to ride up, and they were much excited, of 
course. 

The stranger offered to pay them each a 
quarter. 

The Twins did not take the quarters, for 
they felt very patriotic as it was the Fourth 
of July, and they said they were glad to ride 
in the parade or do anything they could for 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


15 


their country. Nan got on the float trimmed 
with Stars and Stripes and Ann drew a cape 
about her and stood in the street waiting for 
her turn to ride in the big parade. 

. Now, Platteville has two big volunteer fire 
companies of which it is justly proud, and 
a wonderful new fire truck, and they led the 
big parade. On one fire truck rode a little 
boy dressed as Uncle Sam, and on the other 
rode little girls with flags, and the ladders 
were wrapped with red, white and blue. 

On and on came the wonderful floats. 
Some of them contained wee little houses, 
and the Eastern Star had a float with many 
stars on it, one star raised like an umbrella 
and a little girl sitting under each point of 
the star. 

Suddenly Ann remembered she was to be 
six blocks up when the parade turned to get 
on the float and have a chance to ride in the 
parade. She was in such a hurry that she 


16 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


dropped off her cape and moved rapidly 
through the crowd, and some way things did 
not turn out at all as you would expect on 



that July day, for a Clown saw her and 
shouted out: “Have a ride; there is room 
inside my cart.” He actually stopped the 
whole procession for her as she stepped inside 



NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


17 


the pony cart he was driving. Ann felt her 
crown to see if it was on straight, and the 
crowd cheered and cheered. 

Very funny things happen in Platteville, 
because it is a very old town, and the fairies 
live in the woods near, and you may expect 
almost anything to take place if you happen 
to be there on a high day, or a holiday. 

Father and Mother and Mark saw the 
parade. 

They said, “I see Nan in the parade.” 
Then they said, “It is Ann in the parade”; 
and, of course, they were right each time, 
because the Twins were both in it. 

It was a long parade and had Boy Scouts 
and little ponies in it, and the florists threw 
out carnations and roses. It was a merry 
Fourth of July and every one was very, very 
happy. 

“Dear me,” said Mother, “if that was Nan, 
I shall go with her next time.” 


18 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Father said, “If that was Ann, I will tell 
her she must not make herself so common.” 

“Where is Sammy Slow-Coach?” asked 
Mark, laughing. 

Father and Mother and Mark rode home 
after the parade, but Nan and Ann went to 
the Park and heard the singing and speeches, 
and because they had been so accommodating 
the ladies offered them lemonade and a seat 
in the grandstand where they could see and 
hear everything. 

By and by they walked about in the crowd, 
their little red, white and blue lunch baskets 
swinging on their arms. 

They had loads of lunch, of course, for 
Mother always put it up that way, and by 
and by they met a dried-up little old man, 
and a dried-up little old woman and they 
offered to share their lunch with them, and 
have a real picnic. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


19 


The little dried-up old man laughed and 
jumped up onto his feet as suddenly as a cork¬ 
screw, and the little dried-up old woman got 
up and bowed and said as they lived in a 
little house right near the Park she begged 
to invite the Twins to have dinner with 
them. There was much laughing and shak¬ 
ing hands, of course, and the house was only 
a stone’s throw away. 

Off they all went together and spread out 
the picnic lunch, while the little old man and 
woman got milk and the biggest, finest 
doughnuts you ever saw! 


There were portraits that smiled upon 
them from the walls and there were books 
everywhere and curios in cabinets, among 
them a little tin gondola from Venice that 
almost brought them bad luck, for the little 
old dried-up couple talked so much about 
their old home in Venice that the Twins al- 


20 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


most forgot to go back to the park to see the 
ball game. 

The little old man said, 

“Put the rest of the lunch into the basket. 

Be thrifty, please, before I ask it.” 

The little old woman said, 

“Save a little every day, 

To learn thrift is best, I say.” 

Nan and Ann said: “We are on the way 
to Thrift Town. We really mean to start 
to-morrow.” 

They had a wonderful day and in the 
evening there were fireworks, of course. 

In some way they got separated from 
Sammy Slow-Coach and were just wonder¬ 
ing how they would get home when the next 
lucky thing happened. The stranger who 
had asked them to ride in one of the floats 
said that the Mayor wanted to meet them 
to express his thanks for their help. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


21 


“Think of meeting a real live Mayor,” 
whispered Nan. 

“Think of a Mayor wanting to thank 
one,” said Ann, breathlessly. 

Now, the Mayor was very friendly, and 
when he heard that the Twins lived on a 
farm, he said, “I will drive you home in my 
own car if I can.” 

Think of riding home with a Mayor! 

Just as they were talking about it, here 
came old Sammy Slow-Coach, wheel-barrow 
and all, and the Twins would not hurt his 
feelings for worlds. So, laughing and wav¬ 
ing hands at the Mayor, they rode away. 

Now, if the wheel-barrow had not broken 
down a mile from anywhere, the last lucky 
thing might never have happened. 

The wheel came off and, of course, a wheel¬ 
barrow cannot be expected to go without a 
wheel. Sammy Slow-Coach said he would 


22 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


take the wheel-barrow to be mended if the 
Twins would walk on home alone. 

They sat down a few minutes to rest, for 
it had been a most exciting day, when the 
last lucky thing happened suddenly, without 
a bit of warning. 

From the tree overhead a voice called: 

“I am Fairy Thrift, you make me sigh, 

You spoiled your dresses this Fourth of July.” 

The Twins peered up into the tree, but 
could see no one; then they looked down at 
their dresses, which were spotted and soiled, 
of course. Their pretty hats were dusty and 
their shoes were stubbed at the toes. 

Said Fairy Thrift, “Now I suppose, 

You never think to save your clothes, 

And though you think it very funny, 

I often talk of saving money.” 

“It is the Thrift Fairy,” cried the Twins 
merrily. “Maybe you will take us on an 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


23 


adventure to Thrift Town, for Father and 
Mother often tell us we should go there.” 

Said Fairy Thrift, “In every clime, 

I give advice on SAVING TIME." 

“Dear me!” cried the Twins in one breath. 
“Will we have to save time, too? Save 
clothes, save money. What else will we have 
to save before we arrive in Thrift Town?” 

Fairy Thrift said, jumping about lightly 
from one branch of a tree to another: 

“Though you’re Twins who look quite bright, 

I think you never save your light. 

Save your fuel and your health, 

Worth far more than fame or wealth." 

The Twins giggled, but Fairy Thrift said: 

“This is no laughing matter. If you really 
want to start to Thrift Town, you must 
make up your mind to be very watchful and 
save even everyday things such as paper and 
string, and you must form the habit of mend- 


24 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


ing and saving, and you will have to work 
out all kinds of problems in Thrift.” 

“Problems,” said Nan and Ann excitedly. 
“How we do like to work out problems.” 

Thev actually forgot it was the Fourth of 
July! 

They actually forgot they were still far 
away from home, and they talked on and 
on to the Thrift Fairy until they fell asleep. 
How they ever woke up at home in their 
own little beds was a mystery to them until 
Uncle Phil said in a mysterious way next 
day: 


“Dear Twins, you gave us quite a fright. 

We searched for you by lantern light.” 

The Twins giggled, as usual, and asked 
Uncle Phil if he had ever met Fairy Thrift. 

His eyes twinkled as he said he thought 
he had met every fairy in the dells. 

The Twins kept on thinking about Fairy 
Thrift and they wondered when he would 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


25 


call, but they had had such an exciting 
Fourth of July from that time on, every¬ 
thing dated with them from the Fourth of 
July -they spent in Platteville. They would 
say, ‘‘Oh, that happened before we rode in 
the parade on the Fourth of July,” or “That 
happened after we rode in the parade on 
the Fourth of July.” 

When Mark put off a left-over firecracker 
almost under their very noses, they langhed 
good-naturedly, and when they talked about 
Fairy Thift to Mother, she said, “I wish that 
Fairy Thrift would teach you something.” 

Father said, 

“We love you so, it does seem funny, 

You’re worth more than a mint of money.” 

Mark said, 

“Money to give, and money to lend, 

Money to earn and money to spend.” 

He asked who was a good catch, and 
tossed each of the Twins a round, shining, 
silver quarter. 


26 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


They thanked Mark and said, 

“We really wish we could buy a Bunny, 
Hurrah! Hurrah! for a mint of money.” 

Father and Mother approved of their 
plans and said they would suggest ways of 
earning and saving next day. 

Uncle Phil suggested, 

“Off and away to bed please run; 

A mint of money is lots of fun; 

To-morrow you’ll be a sleepy-head 
If you don’t spend some hours in bed.” 

The Twins ran up-stairs merrily singing: 

“Ha, ha, ha, it is surely funny, 

Soon we’ll be worth a mint of money.” 


CHAPTER II. 


THE VALUE OF MONEY. 

“What is that?” asked Ann. 

“What is that?” asked Nan. 

They asked the question next day as they 
heard a tap-tap-tapping on the window pane, 
and a merry voice called out: 

“I’m Fairy Thrift, please let me in, 

You now can hear my merry din; 

The battle against waste we’ll win; 

I’m Fairy Thrift, please let me in.” 

The Twins hurried to the window and let 
Fairy Thrift in, saying, “You are the most 
useful Fairy we know.” To which Fairy 
Thrift replied, “There are other Fairies just 
as useful as I am.” 


27 


28 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Fairy Thrift continued, “All Fairies do 
not talk in rhyme as I do, but, of course, all 
Fairies can sing. 

Ha, ha, ha, you’ll think it funny, 

I’ve come to ask, Do you value money?” 

Nan and Ann said, “We do not know 
much about money, but we just love to learn 
things from a little Fairy like you. We will 
try to do as you tell us, for we certainly do 
want to learn how to earn money and save 
it, too.” 

Fairy Thrift danced this way and that 
way, and said, 

“To value money you must learn 
’Tis one thing to spend and one to earn. 

You may learn this to your sorrow, 

Money it’s. not best to borrow. 

It is a very thrifty way 
To save some money to put away; 

Still, I have not told you all, 

Don’t rob Peter to Pay Paul.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


29 


“ ‘Rob Peter and pay Paul?’ That sounds 
interesting,” said the Twins in one breath. 
“What does that mean?” 

Instead of answering their Question, Fairy 
Thrift asked another by saying, 

“What would you do this very minute 
If you had to earn, let’s begin it.” 

So saying, without a single word of warn¬ 
ing, he vanished, and Nan and Ann stared 
at each other out of wide-open eyes. 

Nan said, “Let us pretend we just have to 
earn money to-day.” 

Ann said, “There is the strawberry patch.” 
And wasn’t it queer? At this very minute 
Father called, “I need helpers to-day; I need 
extra helpers in the strawberry bed; I need 
strawberry pickers, two cents a box.” 

“Two cents a box!” cried the Twins joy¬ 
ously. “We will make lots of money. We can 
pick boxes and boxes. 


30 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


“If we work hard all day maybe we will 
earn a lot of money,” said Ann, and Nan 
clapped her hands with delight. 

“Don’t count your chickens before they are 
hatched,” said Mark, for he always liked to 
tease a little. 

The Twins said, “We do not see any like¬ 
ness between strawberries and chickens, but 
we suppose you mean by that saying we had 
better not count our money until we really 
earn it.” 

Off they went to the strawberry bed and 
were surprised to hear a great chattering and 
scolding in a tree overhead. 

Said Fairy Thrift, “I have to scold, 

For you are almost twelve years old; 

You ought to do as you are told, 

And put on aprons really old.” 

The Twins laughed and ran into the house 
and put on old, worn aprons so that straw¬ 
berry stains would not matter. They found 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


31 


it fun to pick the ripe, red berries, and run 
a race to see w r ho would fill a box first. 

Nan picked faster than Ann, but Mark 
came by and said no green berries must go 
in a box and no berries that were over-ripe, 
because they were all to be shipped away. 

My! the sun grew hot! 

My! the Twins’ backs and fingers began 
to ache! 

They drew their sun-bonnets over their 
faces and said, “We never appreciated a dish 
of strawberries to eat before. We believe we 
have to earn a thing to know the value of 
it.” 

Just then a bright yellow butterfly came 
by and the Twins just had to run for their 
butterfly net; and they never dreamed that 
the butterfly would lead them a chase over 
hill and dale, but they ran on and on and on 
until, tired and breathless, they came to the 
next farm. 


32 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


The Twins were so hungry they did want 
dinner. 

The farmer’s wife had the reputation of 
being very stingy, but she called, “Come in 
and help me to-day and I will give you your 
dinner.” 

There were dishes piled on the table and 
floor; pans and kettles, and still some more. 

The Twins began with a right good will 
to wash dishes. 

My! how hard they worked, and how hot 
it was, for the farmer’s wife had a big fire 
in the wood stove, and she was putting up 
strawberries. 

By and by she said they had earned then- 
dinner, though the Twins thought they had 
earned a great deal more. 

After dinner they started home. “I wish 
I had my bike,” said Ann. “I wish I had 
my pony,” said Nan. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


33 


“At your service,” said a boy with a pony 
cart who was driving along. Now, the Twins 
knew as well as you or I that they ought not 
to borrow from a stranger, or ride with a 
stranger; but the road was long and it was 
hot and dusty, and they wanted to get back 
to their own strawberry patch as soon as 
possible, so they climbed into the cart and 
Reckless Red, as the boy was called, drove on. 

My! how that boy did drive! 

My! how that pony did shy! 

He was even afraid of his own shadow, 
and when a bee stung him the worst possible 
thing happened; and that right near their 
own farm house, so near that Father and 
Mother and Mark saw the whole thing. The 
pony ran away, turned over the cart and 
left the Twins in a helpless heap in the road. 

“Are you hurt? Save the pieces! shouted 
Reckless Red. 


34 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Nan bounded up and shouted, “I am O. 
K.!” But Ann got up more slowly and then 
fell back in a heap, limp and white, crying, 
“Oh, my ankle is hurt!” 

Reckless Red meant well if he was care¬ 
less, and he picked Ann right up in his 
strong arms and took her to the house. 

“It is a sprained ankle,” said Mark. 

Father and Mother said, “We will get the 
doctor.” 

Mark ran to the telephone and Doctor 
Get-Well was soon on his way to bind up 
the sprained ankle. 

Nan said, “Do you believe in unlucky days? 
We only earned two cents a piece and our 
dinner, and here was Father depending upon 
us and in such a hurry to get the berries 
picked.” 

Reckless Red was not bad at heart and he 
bounded down to the berry patch and helped 
Mark steadily. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


35 


Dr. Get-Well said, speaking of luck, 

“Luck and pluck are in the game, 

To me all days are much the same.” 

Ann had to lie curled up on the sofa a 
good deal and Nan sat beside her to console 
her for her ill luck. She said, “Just think 
how silly we were to chase that old butter¬ 
fly, and we only earned two postage stamps.” 

It was at this very minute that Mother 
began to think about giving the Twins an 
allowance, and Father said it would be a 
capital idea, for it would teach them thrift 
and the value of money. 

Mark had an allowance for some time, and 
he said, “You will soon learn if you spend 
for one thing you cannot have money to 
spend for another.” 

Mother said this was very true and she 
would help the Twins plan how to spend 
part of their allowance on useful things first. 


36 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Nan had to go down to the mail box alone 
now, and she said as she ran back into the 
house: “Oh, Ann, there was a cat sitting in 
our rural mail box!” 

Ann said, “Did you bring it home with 
you?” 

“Of course I did!” shouted Nan, throwing 
a catalogue, which she had called “cat” for 
short, into her Twin’s lap. 

“Oh, Bean, you are always playing a joke 
on me,” said Ann. 

The Twins often called each other “Bean” 
or any other silly thing that came into their 
heads, and the queer part of this was they 
always understood and responded to any 
name they took it into their heads to call 
each other. 

Now, if Nan had not brought home the 
catalogue that day you might never have 
heard about the chambray dresses, one pink 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


37 


and one blue, and how the Twins really began 
to save money. 

In the catalogue were the most charming 
chambray dresses. “Just the thing for 
school!” exclaimed the Twins. “Just the 
thing! Let us dip into our allowance and 
send at once for the dresses — ten dollai’s 
each.” 

Mother smiled and said as Ann was laid 
up with her sprained ankle and Nan wanted 
to stay indoors with her most of the time, 
wouldn’t it be much cheaper and better for 
them to make their own dresses? 

As Mother always had something ahead, 
she went to her emergency box and took out 
pink and blue chambray—just enough for 
two dresses. She gave the Twins the mate¬ 
rial to start with. 

My! what fun they had borrowing a neigh¬ 
bor’s pattern and cutting out two simple 
little dresses. 


38 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Nan chose blue and Ann chose pink, and 
as luck would have it, the most surprising 
thing happened at noon. 

Father came in and said, “I have a surprise 
for my Thrifty Twins.” 

“A surprise!” they shouted. “Do tell us 
about it.” 

Mark said, “I almost wish I was a girl to 
get a surprise, too.” 

Father said, “I want my girls to be thrifty, 
so I bought a little hand sewing-machine.” 

A sewing-machine on such a day! Could 
anything have happened nicer? 

Mark helped them unbox the little machine 
and put it on a stand, and sure enough, when 
threaded, it ran by hand. They turned the 
wheel with one hand and guided the work 
with the other. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


39 


By evening the dresses were near enough 
done to put on, and the Twins cried: 

“We can be thrifty as you would suppose, 

We are really learning to make our clothes.” 

It was fun to make clothes with a good 
pattern and pretty material and a brand new 
sewing-machine, you may be sure! 

It was then and there that the Twins whis¬ 
pered to Mother, and she smiled, too, for 
they had an idea that they could make Mark 
a fine silk shirt for his birthday. 

The Twins said as they had saved money 
by not buying dresses, they could afford to 
buy some silk for Mark’s shirt. 

Mother told them that they would have 
to buy a pattern this time, and that it would 
take much longer to make a shirt than a 
simple apron dress. She said, too, that Mark 
was very particular about everything he wore 
and that the Twins would have to make 
button-holes and sew buttons on the shirt. 


40 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


The Twins had busy little brains, and what 
do you think they decided to do next? 

They decided that they wanted to earn 
some money, so they said they would open 
a Sewing School if Mother was willing. 

Children from the farms near were de¬ 
lighted to come, and they paid a quarter for 

every lesson the Twins gave them. 

Father said it was a splendid idea for the 
Twins to have something to do and to learn 
the value of money there was no better way 
than to earn some. 

Soon the fame of the little hand sewing- 
machine went far and wide, and will you 
believe it, Mark was so pleased with his new 
silk shirt that he bought them another ma¬ 
chine so they could both sew on the machines 
at the same time. 

By the first of September they had earned 
six dollars and a quarter in their Sewing 
School. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


41 


Mark cried, 

“Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Thrifty Twins! 

Hurrah! Their saving now begins.” 

Nan and Ann were pleased you may be 
sure but just at this time they seemed to want 
to spend more money than they earned, and 
as they wanted to get a magic lantern they 
even borrowed five dollars from Mark. 

Fairy Thrift came dancing in singing, 

“You are apt to come to sorrow 
If you now begin to borrow; 

Think to-day and think to-morrow, 

Stop a while before you borrow.” 

Fairy Thrift always gave good advice and 
she gave the children credit for making their 
own dresses. 

The Twins were sorry by and by that they 
had borrowed money from Mark for bor¬ 
rowed money is hard to pay back, and the 
Magic Lantern was not a success and it had 
to go back and the firm did not refund all 
the money. 


42 NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 

“Oh we see,” said the Twins with interest. 

The Twins were much interested in their 
allowance and they planned their school 
dresses, and school shoes, and hats. 

They said to Fairy Thrift, “We are glad 
we met you,” and Fairy Thrift replied, 

“Nan and Ann, you think it funny, 

You begin to see the value of money.” 

Nan said, “It helps one think of the value 
of money if he or she has to earn it.” 

Ann said, “It is really fun to keep accounts 
and see how far we can stretch a dollar to 
make it go.” 

Fairy Thrift danced about and said, 

“You may do better, you may do worse, 

It depends upon who handles the purse.” 

Nan and Ann said, “We do hope we may 
have a real adventure of some kind to-mor¬ 


row. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


43 


Fairy Thrift shouted, 

“What did you learn? What did you learn? 

Don’t spend every cent you earn; 

Try to earn and try to save, 

Is the best advice I gave.” 

The Fairy disappeared and the Twins went 
merrily to bed singing, 

“You’re a cute Fairy; we love you, honey. 

We’ve learned about the value of money.” 

Now, wasn’t it queer that evening that 
Father said to Mother, as he looked over 
his spectacles, “Do you think the Twins know 
anything about the value of money?” 

Mother said, “I have lately put them on 
an allowance and I am sure they have begun 
to think about it.” 

Father said, “You know that old log house 
down in the pasture. I would like the Twins 
to have the experience of furnishing it, just 
as though they were going to live there.” 

Mother said, “We might ask Fairy Thrift 
to help them,” and Mark laughed. 


44 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


For several days after that it rained and 
rained and the Twins spent a good deal of 
time in-doors. 

They planned out their allowance and 
Fairy Thrift asked them, each to write a 
story about an old saying. He suggested that 
Nan write about this saying, “Money is a 
good servant,” and he suggested that Ann 
write about the saying, “Wilful Waste Makes 
Woeful Want.” 

When Mother told them about Father’s 
plan of furnishing the little log house, Nan’s 
eyes grew big and round, and she said: “We 
will have to ride to town and go to every 
store to compare the prices of rugs, and 
stoves, and furniture.” 

Ann said, “It is such a big log house we 
will have to learn how to furnish a living 
room and a kitchen and a bed room. What 
fun it will be! After we get the little log 
house furnished perhaps we can spend a 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


45 


night there.” The Twins little dreamed at 
that time that they were going to spend 
many nights there! They could hardly wait 
until they had a chance to get to town. 

“Don’t buy the first thing you see,” said 
Mother. 

“Better just get prices and bring your note 
book home,” said Father. 

Mark said, “Don’t forget to come home 
at all.” 

Fairy Thrift said nothing this time, but 
rode all the way with them tucked under the 
cushion fast asleep. 


CHAPTER III. 


INVESTING MONEY AND THE 
LITTLE LOG HOUSE 


Just as they were getting toward town 
Fairy Thrift woke up and said, 

“When investing money, I hope you’ll try 
To get good value for all that you buy.” 

The Twins were thrilled at the idea of 
being allowed to furnish the little log house, 
but Nan said, “We are not going to buy 
to-day; we are just going to look around.” 
Ann said, “We are determined to get good 
value for all we buy.” 


46 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


47 


They went from store to store and finally 
had these items in their note books: 


1 Rug ..$3.85 

1 Table. 2.75 

2 Chairs . 3.00 

1 Lamp. 1.75 

1 Kitchen Stove 20.00 

Tins for Kitchen. 2.65 


The Twins were quite pleased with their 
notes until evening came and Mother said, 

“Why don’t you save on the rug by making 
one of rags, they will cost nothing and I can 
let you start this very evening.” “Agreed,” 
cried the Twins and Mark got interested for 
he said, when the Little Log House was in 
order he might like to stop there sometimes 
with his own crowd when they came back 
from a fishing trip. 

Mark suggested that a table made of a 
large dry-goods box would save the ex- 








% 



They Cut Rags and Wound Them Into Balls 






































































































































































NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


49 


pense of getting one, and Father said they 
might have the old piano box and put 
in shelves for a pantry cupboard. They 
thought perhaps some boxes would do for 
chairs. 

They remembered they had not gone to 
the Second Hand store to look for a stove, so 
the next few weeks they plotted and planned 
and had a merry time. They cut rags and 
sewed the ends together and wound them 
into balls, and then they braided and sewed 
them into small rugs. 

Fairy Thrift was happy and ran this way 
and that way and said, “You are investing 
money in health and happiness, now I wish 
you would learn a Thrift Song just to please 
me.” 

Nan and.Ann said, “Tell us the tune and 
we will pick up the words by hearing you 
sing them over and over.” 


50 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Fairy Thrift suggested, “Let us sing to the 
tune of ‘Marching Through Georgia.’ ” 

I. 

“Thrifty are the girls and boys, 

We’re learning every day; 

Thrifty are the girls and boys, 

And this we sing and say, 

Learn to save without delay, 

There is no better way, 

Into glad Thrift Town we’re going. 

chorus: 

Hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll sing another song. 

Hurrah! Hurrah! We’re now ten thousand strong. 
With our money, we declare, we’ll have a little care, 
Into glad Thrift Town we’re going. 

II. 

Thrifty are the girls and boys, 

We’ll save in little things; 

Thrifty are the girls and boys, 

For money soon takes wings. 

Think a bit before you lend, 

Think before you spend, 

Into glad Thrift Town we’re going.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


51 


Nan said, “I suppose we have travelled a 
few miles toward Thrift Town already.” 

Ann said, “Oh Fairy Thrift, tell us what 
Thrift Town will be like when we get there.” 

Fairy Thrift said, 

“Close your eyes if you are wise, 

I may give you a surprise.” 

So, off the whole party of youngsters 
trooped to buy the Talking Machine, and 
there sure enough was the very one at the 
very price they wanted. Six records came 
with the machine. 

The purchase was soon made and the whole 
party went back to the Little Log House and 
played pieces to their heart’s content. 

That evening when every one else had 
gone home Uncle Phil came into the Little 
Log House and said, “I have something up 
my sleeve for Nan and Ann. 

The Twins ran to him eagerly and perched 
on the arm of his chair. He said, "I am 


52 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


going to give each of you twenty-five dollars 
and see at the end of six months what you 
have done with it.” 

The Twins were delighted of course. 

Nan said, “I will buy a Treasury Savings 
Certificate. I can get a twenty-five dollar 
certificate from our own Post Master for 
twenty dollars and fifty cents, then in five 
years it will be worth twenty-five dollars.” 

Ann said, “I will put my twenty-five dollars 
in the savings department in the bank and it 
will bring interest and I will try to save a 
little and add to it whenever I can.” 

Uncle Phil approved of their plans and 
laughed, for usually the Twins liked to do 
exactly the same thing but once in a while 
they liked to do something different. 

Uncle Phil said it was sensible to save some 
money instead of spending it all. He said, 
“You will read some day in the Good Book 
that there is a ‘Time for everything under 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


53 


the sun,’ and so there is a time to spend 
money as well as a time to save it, but when 
you do invest it you want to be sure you put 
it in a safe place.” 

He added, 

“I am very glad the present I gave, 

I hope you’ll have ambition to save. 

Try to save and try to earn, 

If thrifty habits you would learn.” 

Uncle Phil and the twins started merrily 
home together. 

Nan had tucked the twenty-five dollars 
safely away in her little bag, and Ann 
thought she had tucked hers in her apron 
pocket, but when they undressed that night 
the most distressing thing happened: 

Ann’s twenty-five dollars were nowhere to 
be found! 

They went back to the Little Log House 
by lantern light and searched every bit of the 


54 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


way. They did not know that it was useless 
to keep looking for the money as a small boy 
at that very minute held it in his hand and 
said to himself, “Finding is keeping.” It was 
a long, long time before the Twins knew what 
had become of the money. 

Mother told Ann she should have been 
more careful, but Uncle Phil never scolded, 
but suggested now that the Twins open a 
joint account in the savings bank, which thev 
did. 

The Twins said, “If we could save between 
us a dollar a week and add to the twenty-five 
dollars, at the end of a year we would have 
seventy-seven dollars, and interest and that 
would soon bring our money up to a hundred 
dollars.” 

What fun they had plotting and planning 
about money and what a jolly time all the 
children had in the Little Log House with 
their merry games and Talking Machine. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


55 


Fairy Thrift danced about on tip-toe and 
said, 

“When you have money to invest, 

Take your elder’s advice, for that is best; 

You can be careful if you choose, 

And money you should never lose.” 

Ann cried as she thought of losing twenty- 
five dollars, it was so much money for a small 
girl to lose. 

The Twins begged to be allowed to sleep 
one night in the Little Log House before 
they had to start to school, and Mother was 
willing if Mark would stay with them. They 
packed their picnic baskets and when they 
got there had a real feast on their oil-cloth 
table, and then they sat out in the moonlight 
and told stories. 

Nan said, “I see some one coming up the 

path.” 

Ann said, lie carries a pack on his back. 


56 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Mark loved to tease the Twins and sug¬ 
gested. “Is it the Sandman? Is it Santa 
Claus?” 

The figure came closer and said in a sing¬ 
song kind of way, 

“A merry Peddler knows no lack, 

He always carries on his back 
A very neat and useful pack. 

Of knowledge, too, he has a stack. 

Heigho for the Peddler and his pack.” 

Now, wasn’t it queer that the Peddler sat 
down beside them and told them many silly 
and unsafe ways of investing money and get¬ 
ting rich quick in schemes they knew nothing 
about, and he begged the children to lend 
him a little, even a few dollars so he could 
show them how to make money grow. 

His talk was so interesting the Twins 
wanted to hear more and even wished they 
had their lost twenty-five dollars to lend the 
Peddler. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


57 


When the Persistent Peddler was gone 
Mark said, “Even Sammy Slow-Coach would 
not trust a Peddler, never give or lend money 
to strangers unless you are perfectly willing 
to lose it. ‘Look Before You Leap,’ is a very 
good motto for every one.” 

The children turned in, as they called going 
to bed, and had a fine sleep and woke and 
took a swim before breakfast. 

As luck would have it the Twins were 
always glad after that, they did not start to 
Platteville to school that day for a letter came 
that was very important to them all. 

The next day Mother received a letter from 
great Aunt Matilda way out west in Seattle 
begging her to come at once for a visit. 
Now, Mother never went for a visit any¬ 
where, but she was not' well and Father 
begged her to wire at once that she would 
accept the invitation. 

Mark said, “Is she the great Aunt who is so 


58 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


very, very rich and who keeps such a tight 
hold on her purse string?” 

Nan and Ann hugged Mother and said, 
“Oh, Mother, do you really, truly want to go 
so far away?” 

Mother had a hard time to make up her 
mind to leave the little family, but she was 
happy as could be, when it was decided that 
she was to go on a real holiday for a month, 
and the Twins ran errands for her and Mark 
brought down an old trunk from the attic, 
that had not been used for ever so long, and 
every one was brave and happy and every one 
wanted Mother to have a good time. 

Nan and Ann walked to town and came 
back with a mysterious looking package. 
Mother opened the package and said, “What 
thoughtful children, I will think of you now 
every morning when I look to see what time 
it is, and I will think of you every evening 
when I wind my little travelling clock, and I 
will think of you also every hour of the day.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


59 


Mark had a surprise for Mother, too. He 
went to town and bought her ticket out of 
his own money. Father bought her a new 
suit and travelling bag and Mother looked as 
young and merry as a girl, for it had been 
years since she had a real holiday. 

Very soon Mother was ready to start on 
her journey and they all went to the station 
to see her off, and Mother’s last words were, 
“Don’t forget to write. I expect a long letter 
from each one of you every week, and just 
think a month has only four weeks in it after 
all, just think how quickly the time will pass.” 
(Which shows Mother was almost homesick 
before she started.) Mother called from the 
window, “Be good and mind Father every 
day.” 

The train started and with many cries of 
“Good bye, good bye, have a good time, send 
us postal cards.” Mother and her little 
family were separated as luck would have it 
for a long, long time. 


60 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Father said, “Of course, we will miss 
Mother, but we must think how much good 
the change will do her and we will all be as 
busy as can be, and after all a month has only 
thirty-one days in it.” (Which shows that 
Father was homesick for Mother already 
when he was counting the days she would be 
gone.) 

“September has only thirty days,” said 
Mark thoughtfully, and the Twins said, “We 
will have thirty days to try some of the Thrift 
Projects we were talking about.” They had 
to swallow hard and often to keep from 
crying. 

Why the accident had to happen on that 
day of all days in the year they never knew, 
but Father fell from the barn roof and broke 
his leg and was badly hurt beside. This 
meant much excitement for everyone and 
Mark wanted to wire Mother to come back 
at once, but Father said, “If any one lets a 
word of this get to Mother I will chop him 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


61 


fine as mince meat,” and they all knew that 
Father was not joking this time. 

Nan stared at Ann and said, “Mother 
away. Father in bed with a broken leg. 

WHAT SHALL WE DO?” 

Mark said, “It never rains but it pours,” 
and Sammy Slow-Coach said, “Troubles 
never come singly.” 

Father was the most cheerful one of the 
party and that evening when Mark suggested 
a Thrift Project he became quite merry and 
helped the children with their plans. 

Mark said, “Just for fun and for experi¬ 
ence, suppose for the month of September 
we close the big house, and go and live in the 
Little Log House and figure up what we save 
by living a very simple life.” 

“The Little Log House, the Little Log 
House, oh Father, do please let us go and live 
in the Little Log House,” said the Twins 
excitedly. 


62 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Father said, “It makes me think of a camp¬ 
ing trip and I don’t mind, but in slang words, 
‘Just what is the big idea?’ ” 

Mark said weather in the fall was chilly 
and they could plan to save light and fuel 
and there would be less work to do, to keep 
house in a little place. 

Now wasn’t it strange that very week 
there was a fire in the wheat fields and every¬ 
thing on the farm went at sixes and sevens, 
and wasn’t it strange that just as the family 
lost so much money and felt that the bottom 
was knocked out of everything Mr. Griswold 
came to rent the farm? Father decided that 
Mark must be right, they would have to save 
and go into the Little Log House to live and 
no joke about it either. 

“Hurrah! hurrah!” cried the Twins, “Hur¬ 
rah for the Little Log House, Hurrah for the 
Griswold Twins, Hurrah for Moving Day!” 

Did they have fun moving? Well, I guess 
they did, and Father advised them, “Not one 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


63 


word of this to Mother, not a word of our 
troubles, she must enjoy her holiday.” 

At last they were safely moved and a cheer¬ 
ful fire crackled in the big fireplace. 

Father said this would never do, and as 
they had so much trouble with the joint- 
letter perhaps they had better try to write 
each of them to Mother. It was harder than 
you can imagine to write that first letter to 
Mother and never to mention any of their 
troubles. They must not tell her they had 
moved, and everything they wanted to say 
seemed to bring that up in their minds. 

It took nearly all the evening to compose 
those letters and they passed them around to 
be sure no one had said anything they wanted 
to keep still about. It took much erasing, and 
writing, and re-writing, and finally four 
cheerful letters were ready to mail to Mother. 

Next day, Mark took the Twins aside and 
said, "Father has lost a great deal of money 


64 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


and the crops are poor and we have hardly 
anything to live on but the rent of the farm, 
now I for one will go to work, but you must 
go to school.” 

Nan and Ann looked sober, but brightened 
up saying, “You forget Mark, we have an 
allowance.” 

Mark said, “You little silly things, where 
did the allowance come from? Of course, it 
stops and we must not bother either Father 
or Mother with any of these things. If you 
can get any work to do after school it will 
help, and we will keep no help but Sammy 
Slow-Coach, and you girls will have to keep 
house as well as you can. No telling we may 
have to stay in the Little Log House all win¬ 
ter. We must count every penny.” 

The Twins decided to go to the little coun¬ 
try school a quarter of a mile away instead of 
going to Platteville, for they said they could 
walk to school and wear plainer dresses, and 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


65 


get home quicker to get supper and every¬ 
thing seemed to point that way. 

Fairy Thrift suggested, 

“Do be thrifty now, I say, 

Take up your ashes every day.” 

He said a fire would burn much better with 
plenty of draft and would have more draft 
if the ashes were taken up every day, and also 
suggested that they put ashes on the fire to 
bank it up and keep it at night. 

The birds sang around the Little Log 
House and the children had such a good time 
in the country and learned so many new 
things that they were really happy. 

It was about this time that all the children 
were talking about Halloween and the golden 
pumpkins were piled up in the fields. 

Nan and Ann wanted to give a Halloween 
party and Father said, they could if they 
would plan some cheap refreshments. 


66 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


The Twins talked to Fairy Thrift and 
plotted and planned for days, and days, to 
see how they could afford to give a Hallo¬ 
ween Party. 

Every one was happy. Father said, “How 
much of Thrift my children are learning and 
how I do enjoy having time to write.” 

Ann said, “We can roast apples for we have 
plenty of apples from our own trees in the 
orchard.” 

They wanted a real sit-down supper party 
and they studied it over and over. 

Mark suggested, “Let us have a Hard 
Times Party, and ask all the children to come 
in their oldest clothes, and ask them all to 
bring one article for supper.” 

No sooner said than done, and the Twins 
were happier than they had been since 
Mother left. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


67 


They wrote Mother they were going to 
have a Hard Times Party in the Little Log 
House for fun. 

Mother sent cute invitations and they in¬ 
vited all the children in the country school to 
come. 

On the very day of the party a box came 
from Mother with little Halloween candy 
boxes, shaped like cats, and witches, and every 
one of the boxes was filled with candy of 
course. 

Sammy Slow-Coach said such a big party 
would have to eat on their laps or out of their 
baskets, picnic style. 

Mark thought of something better. He 
said they would put a lot of boxes together 
and cover them with brown paper and pin on 
the cover gay autumn leaves. A candy box 
stood at each place. 

All the children were excited as they 
trooped in and said, “What did you bring in 


68 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


your basket? What did you bring in your 
basket?” 

The Griswold Twins were shy in a crowd 
and they stood in the corner and said, “We 
brought pickles!” 

Susy Save A-Bit answered, “Pickles,” and 
Polly Prim said, “I brought Dill Pickles,” 
and Wasteful Will said, “I bought spiced 
pickles.” 

Eager Ed and Thoughtless Ted said, “We 
brought a bottle of pickles,” and soon they 
were merry with laughter. 

Father said, “All you children must have 
met Peter Piper with his pack of pickled 
peppers.” 

Now, wasn’t it absurd that three-fourths of 
the children brought pickles and one-fourth 
brought candy to the Halloween Party? It 
looked for a while as though it would be a 
Hard Times Party sure enough. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


69 


They made merry anyway and Fairy 
Thrift said it would have been more thrifty, 
of course, to have asked each child what he 
would bring. 

Sammy Slow-Coach cut bread for sand¬ 
wiches and he had some peanut butter put 
away for a time like this, and he had a jar of 
lemonade ready, and the children passed 
pickles every few minutes and roasted apples 
and sat by the firelight and told stories, and 
did Halloween stunts. 

Father said, “In England years ago Hal¬ 
loween was called ‘Nut-Crack Night.’ ” He 
said the Druids kept Halloween 2,000 years 
ago. They tried to keep fires all the year as 
they worshipped the Sun-god, and they kept 
fires burning in his honor. 

They all begged Father to tell them a 
Ghost Story, but he said Sammy Slow-Coach 
might tell a better one than he could, and 
Sammy said that Mark could tell a better one, 


70 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


and every one called for a Ghost Story for 
they said that would be just the thing for 
Halloween. 

Nan and Ann said it was a Hard Times 
Party about the pickles and now it looked 
as though it would be a Hard Times Party 
about getting any one to tell a Ghost Story. 

Just then, there was heard a rattling and 
a stumbling sound as though some one were 
coming along in the dark. 

They grew still and wondered was it a 
Ghost, as some one tapped on the window 
pane. 

Then, with a merry laugh Uncle Phil, the 
real Family Story-Teller, came in. When he 
was asked for a Ghost Story he said: 

I’m a story-teller for the reason, 

I know a story for every season.” 

He went on to say he felt as familiar with 
ghosts as with boys and girls. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


71 


“Did you ever see a ghost?” whispered the 
children as they crowded around him. 

The story seemed so very real and the 
Ghost’s cry so real that all the children at the 
Hard Times party cried, “Oh, oh, oh, was 
that a true story?” 

Uncle Phil said, “Well, I guess if I scared 
you all that was a pretty good Ghost story 
after all.” 

They said, “Was that the end? Surely that 
could not have been the end of the Gentle 
Ghost. That is no way at all for a Ghost 
Story to end.” 

The children hung on Uncle Phil and asked 
him for another story of course. 

“It will be Hard Times for me if 
I have to stay here and tell stories all night 
long. I will tell one story. Once upon a 
time a pumpkin began to grow and grow, and 
grow. It grew bigger, and bigger, and 
bigger, and out sprang Peter Pumpkin- 


72 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Eater’s Wife and she said, ‘I will now go to 
the grand ball and I will have this pumpkin 
for my coach.’ ” 

At this very minute in the telling of the 
story out came a boy drawing a cart with a 
pumpkin and a pretty girl in it. All the 
children cried, “Hurrah, hurrah for Peter 
Pumpkin-Eater and his Wife, what a sur¬ 
prise for us all!” 

Now the most delightful surprise of all was 
that Uncle Phil had dropped a fortune for 
each one in the big pumpkin. 

The fortunes were in little envelopes and 
suggested pleasant things as: 

To-morrow you’ll be feeling better. 

You will get a pleasant letter. 

Another fortune said, 

To-morrow you will dance and sing. 

And you may get a new gold ring. 

The children had so much fun over their 
fortunes that they turned around to thank 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


73 


Uncle Phil, but he had gone and Sammy 
Slow-Coach said almost anything might 
happen on a night like this because it was 
Halloween. 

The children all laughed about the Gentle 
Ghost howling so loud that it scared them all, 
and they said no matter how thrifty this 
Ghost was, he surely could not object to their 








74 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


roasting apples by the fire they gathered, for 
they had all gathered the twigs that made the 
fire. 

They told fortunes by cards and peeled 
apples and threw the peeling three times 
round their heads to see what the letters were 
and to see if they spelled the initials of the 
one they were to marry. They, all played 
games and had a merry time indeed. 

They had so many pickles left that they 
said, 

“We have enough pickles to open a store, 

We’ve baskets and baskets and still some more.” 

Some one cried, “Oh, oh, oh,” and they 
knew it was Uncle Phil laughing at them and 
playing he was the Gentle Ghost. 

That night as Nan and Ann lay snugly 
curled up in bed they said, “How we do miss 
Mother, and how we do wish she could come 
home soon. We wonder if she misses us as 
much as we miss her?” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


75 


Fairy Thrift said, 

‘‘Tell me one thing, tell me true, 

Didn‘’t your mother overdo? 

Didn’t she visit to save her health? 

Isn’t her health worth more than wealth?” 

The Twins answered, “Yes, indeed, we do 
want our dear Mother to stay away until she 
is well and strong and we will not write a sin¬ 
gle selfish thing in a letter to bring her home. 

Father said, 

“Listen, now, to my advice, 

Show me a labor-saving device.” 

The Twins went and rolled in the tray- 
wagon. They said, “This little tray-wagon 
saves us much time for we set away the dishes 
from the entire table on the tray and roll 
everything out to the kitchen at once, think 
of all the steps we save in not taking only two 
dishes oft the table at one time? 

Mark said, “An egg-beater saves time in¬ 
stead of our using a fork to beat eggs, and 


76 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


we do such wonderful things as washing, and 
heating, and cooling, by electricity.” 

The next evening there was heard a per¬ 
sistent knocking at the door of the Little 
Log House. Mark went to open the door 
and there stood the Persistent Peddler. He 
begged for a night’s lodging and Father said 
he could sleep in the tent outside with Sammy 
Slow-Coach for one night. 

The Persistent Peddler said, 

“I have told this story once or twice, 

Did you speak of a labor-saving device?” 

Out from his mysterious pack he took a 
paper clip and showed how he could best 
make a neat little round hole in a pile of 
papers, so they could have a cord hung in 
them and hang them up, and all this was done 
with one motion. Father said he would have 
to buy the wonderful paper clip. 

Out from the wonderful pack came so 
many labor-saving devices that the Twins 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


77 


grew wide-eyed and Mark said, “It would 
take a pile of money to buy all these things 
and much time to learn to use them all.” 

The Persistent Peddler had an argument 
for the use of everything. 

Fairy Thrift peeped in the window and 
called merrily, 

“Says Fairy Thrift, T hope you’ll agree 
Not to purchase everything you see.’” 

The Persistent Pedler did not like Fairies 
at all and he shook his fist at the Fairy and 
said, 

“Your advice sounds rather funny, 

For saving time is saving money.” 

This sounded much like the advice that 
Father had been giving the Twins. 

There is always something mysterious 
about a Peddler’s pack; it makes one natur¬ 
ally think of Santa Claus’ pack full of pres¬ 
ents and the Sandman’s pack full of sand, and 



Mark Opened the Door and There Stood the Peddler 



































































NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


79 


of course when you look at a pack you always 
wonder what will come out of it next. 

The next thing that the Peddler took out 
of his pack was a brand new alarm clock and 
he turned to Mark and said, 

“It is second-hand, you understand, 

But the finest alarm clock in the land; 

For one dollar I’ll sell to you 
This alarm clock good as new.” 

Now Mark really did not need an alarm 
clock to get him up early in the morning, and 
he did not stop to think whether it was wise 
or not to buy from a Peddler, so he bought 
the clock and put his hand in his pocket 
and drew out a round, shining silver dollar. 
Then the Peddler turned to the Twins and 
took out of his pack a book called, The 
Room In Order.” He said, “This is a truly 
wonderful book and will teach you to Have 
a place for everything and everything in 
place.’ If a thing is in place it will save you 
much time looking for it.” 


80 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Unwisely, the Twins went to their little tin 
bank and took out all the pennies they had 
saved for a long, long time. 

They paid the Peddler all their pennies, 
which amounted to a dollar and a quarter 
and they bought the book just because the 
Peddler recommended it. 

How long the Persistent Peddler would 
have Continued to take things out of his pack 
I cannot imagine if he had not taken out a 
tiny little gold watch and said, “This tiny 
little watch has a story to tell.” 

“Do tell us the story,” cried the Twins ex¬ 
citedly. 

The Persistent Peddler cocked one eye and 
turned his head to one side and said, “Once 
upon a time, there was a pair of Twins who 
were never on time anywhere, late at break¬ 
fast, dinner and supper, late to church, and 
late to school, and all because they had noth¬ 
ing about them to remind them of the time.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


81 


My !• but the Persistent Peddler was a good 
story-teller! 

He said as he looked at the little watch, 

“Tick, tick, tick, goes each minute, 

A useful thing you can do in it.” 

One day the Twins’ Father brought them 
a ting wrist watch and he said they might 
take turns wearing it, and they did take turns 
wearing it turn and turn about, and after 
that they were on time to breakfast, and din¬ 
ner, and supper, and on time to church, and 
school. They saved their own time and other 
people’s time and they learned many useful 
lessons and were known everywhere as the 
“On-Time Twins.” They kept their house 
in order and used labor-saving and time-sav¬ 
ing devices. 

At this very minute Sammy Slow-Coach 
came in to make Father comfortable for the 
night and the Persistent Peddler went out 
to the tent. He laid the little gold watch 


82 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


temptingly on the table. The Twins set the 
table to be ready for breakfast and Mark set 
his alarm clock, and they all did everything 
they could to get ready for an early start 
next morning. 

The Twins planned to get up early to read 
their new book, “The Room In Order.” 

They all got up next day much earlier than 
they had expected for Mark set the alarm 
clock wrong and it went off at four o’clock 
instead of six and every one got wide awake 
and they all got to laughing and scolding at 
once. 

Sammy Slow-Coach came to see what was 
the matter and said, “The Persistent Peddler 
done gone away, and my good overcoat done 
gone too!” 

The Twins looked about the house. The 
little gold watch he showed them was gone, 
and a silver vase and there was just no telling 
what else might be found missing later in the 
day. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


83 


Sammy Slow-Coach said for once he would 
lose no time, but saddle the old gray mare 
and ride after the Peddler and recover the 
lost things. 

When the Twins were going*to sleep, Nan 
said, “I do wonder if Sammy Slow-Coach can 
ever hope to catch the Persistent Peddler?’ - . 

They did not know then that Sammy Slow- 
Coach would find his coat in a place where 
he had left it, and that the silver vase would 
show up too next day. 


CHAPTER IV. 


SAVING CLOTHES. THE WONDER 
* FUL TRUNK 

' The old horsehair trunk in Great Aunt 
Matilda’s garret stood in the corner where 
no sunlight ever came. It spoke in a low 
voice and said, 

“How many years, do you suppose, 

I will have to hide these clothes ?” 

The big packing trunk in the other corner 
said, “I get opened every few months and the 
clothes I hold are taken out and aired and 
put back again. It is so good to get a breath 
of air.” 

“What are you talking about?” said the 
steamer trunk. “What do you know about 


84 


85 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 
air? I have seen more than any of you 
possibly could see for I have been twice across 
the ocean.” 

The leather trunk took part in the talk 
now and said, 

“I am old-fashioned, I suppose, 

Still I hold some pretty clothes.” 

A little mouse came out to hear the talk 
and once the horsehair trunk thought he 
heard a creak as though there were steps on 
the stairs. He said, “I would be so excited if 
some one were to come up to this old garret. 

The horsehair trunk did hear a step on the 
stairs, and he did hear some keys jingle and 
the footsteps were coming nearer and nearer 
every minute. 

A merry voice called, Oh my! what a 
dusty old garret. Some of this dust seems to 
have been here for ages. I will wipe the dust 
off this old horsehair trunk. Let me see. 


86 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Great Aunt Matilda said I was to look in the 
black trunk for her scarf.” 

“I wonder which trunk I must unlock, why 
it must be this very horsehair trunk after all, 
the very trunk I am dusting. I will try these 
keys, perhaps this trunk will open with the 
key tied with yellow, faded ribbon; yes, it 
opens easily, and I will have much fun 
exploring.” 

“I will have fun, too,” whispered the horse¬ 
hair trunk. It wanted to shout, but was 
afraid of frightening Mother. 

Did they have fun do you suppose, Mother 
and the horsehair trunk in the garret? They 
had so much fun I can never tell about it all. 
Out came Aunt Matilda’s great great grand¬ 
mother’s dresses, funny, old-fashioned and 
queer and out came the most comical old 
bonnets. 

Now, if it had not been raining and if 
Great Aunt Matilda had not been asleep as 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


87 


Mother supposed for the whole afternoon, I 
suppose Mother never would have thought 
of such a thing as dressing up in those funny 
old clothes, but every fluffy silk dress and 
every pretty scarf seemed to say, “Put me on, 
put me on.” Every old-fashioned cape and 
bonnet seemed to say, “Put me on, put me 
on.” 

There was a long mirror hanging on the 
garret wall and it fairly trembled with excite¬ 
ment to see what would happen next. 

Mother put on a red silk dress with a hoop 
skirt and long train and she put a lace scarf 
on her shoulders and put on a cute little poke 
bonnet with roses under the brim. She took 
out next a faded pink parasol and began to 
walk up and down. 

“She is beautiful,” whispered the mirror, 
“she looks like a girl again.” 

“I hear other footsteps, slow, heavy foot¬ 
steps,” sighed the horsehair trunk, but no one 






































NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


89 


paid any attention until a voice cried, “You 
look like my dear Mother, come here and let 
me kiss you.” 

Great Aunt Matilda had come up to the 
garret and caught Mother trying on those 
funny old-fashioned clothes. 

Mother was so ashamed to be caught play¬ 
ing like a child that she sat down on a steamer 
trunk and two tears trickled down her cheeks. 
“Bless my soul, you must be homesick,” cried 
Great Aunt Matilda, sitting down beside her. 
Then she went on to say, “Dear, here is my 
last party dress, and here is my Mother’s wed¬ 
ding dress, let us go on a voyage of discovery 
and unpack the whole trunk and see what we 
can find. ” 

Soon they were as merry as Nan and Ann 
would have been and Aunt Matilda found a 
box of silk pieces and said, “We will begin at 
once and make two silk quilts for the girls, 


90 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


you will start one and I will start the other 
and we will run a race.” 

Then Aunt Matilda had a great idea. She 
said, “Do you suppose the Twins would enjoy 
some of these clothes when they give the little 
plays you tell about? Do you suppose they 
would like me to send a whole trunk full of 
old-fashioned things?” 

Mother said, “They love surprises and I am 
sure it would be a great surprise.” 

The two sat together and sorted and packed 
clothes and when they went down stairs there 
was great excitement in the garret. 

“Going on a journey. Who will be 
chosen?” cried the trunks in happy chorus, 
and will you believe it, the old horsehair 
trunk was the one selected after all! 

This shows we never can tell what delight¬ 
ful things will happen to us even after years 
and years. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


91 


Down came the horsehair trunk ready for 
its journey and oh, the quaint things that 
came out of it! 

Great Aunt Matilda said, “I will write the 
letter to the Twins myself.” She wrote, 

Dear Twins: 

I am enjoying your Mother’s visit so much, 
and to-day we went exploring in an old 
garret. I had sent your Mother up ahead of 
me, and will you believe it she just pretended 
she was a child, and she dressed up in some 
old-fashioned clothes, and she looked just 
beautiful. 

Mother’s dressing up gave me the idea that 
maybe you would enjoy dressing up too when 
you give little plays at school or home. Any¬ 
way, now the trunk is packed and ready to go. 

Are you thrifty, Ann? 

Are you thrifty, Nan? If so, perhaps to 
j please me, you will each try to make one dress 


92 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


for yourselves out of the clothes I send, and 
have your picture taken so I can see how 
smart you are. 

Your pictures taken this way will please 
Mother and me very much for I intend to 
keep her ALL WINTER. 

In the spring when she returns, I may 
also come to make a visit. In the meantime 
Mother and I found something in the trunk 
out of which we are going to make a surprise. 

Now, thrifty little Nan and Ann, 

Have all the happiness you can! 

Write to 

Your loving Aunt Matilda. 

It is strange how much brightness and 
darkness a letter may contain. The Twins 
were wild with delight over the idea of the 
clothes, but that one sentence, “I intend to 
keep her all winter,” made the family gasp, 
for they had thought a month was all that 
Mother would possibly stay. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


93 


“She cannot mean to stay so long,” said 
Father. 

Mark said, “She would come on the next 
train if she knew you had a broken leg.” 

The Twins wept softly into their tiny 
pocket handkerchiefs, but Mark said, “Cheer 
up, the trunk will be a surprise. Cheer up, 
the worst is yet to come,” and his silly talk 
made them all feel better in spite of them¬ 
selves. 

When the trunk came what a happy time 
they had. There were wool dresses and silk 
dresses and old bonnets and fans and feathers. 
The Twins dressed up to surprise Father and 
it was fun to find a suit that some boy had 
used in a fancy-dress party and they made 
Mark wear it, powdered wig and all. 

My! that wonderful trunk! It held treas¬ 
ures untold! 


94 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Mark gave a great “whoop” as they dived 
down in the very bottom of the trunk and 
took out a pair of rubber boots in fine con¬ 
dition, though a bit stiff with age. They 
were just the very thing he needed. 

“Here comes my winter coat!” cried Ann, 
“I will get a pattern and turn this cape into 
a coat.” 

“Here is my new sleeping robe!” cried 
Nan, “I will make a sleeping robe from this 
blanket.” 

Now, will you believe it? There were shoes 
and slippers that fitted, 



CHAPTER V. 


SAVING EVERY DAY THINGS AND A 
MERRY CHRISTMAS 

“Merry Christmas,” cried the Twins to 
wake each other every morning in December. 

“Will we have a Merry Christmas with 
Father laid up and Mother away I wonder?” 
asked Nan, and Ann said, “We will try to 
have a Merry Christmas anyway, and just 
think how few days are left in December, the 
first week has gone already.” 

“Merry Christmas,” cried Uncle Phil, com¬ 
ing in unexpectedly for breakfast. He often 
came in as a surprise and he often brought 
surprising things for the Twins. 

To-day he brought sheets and sheets of gay 
colored tissue paper and balls and balls of 


95 


96 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


string and many pretty paper and glass dec¬ 
orations for a Christmas Tree. 

He said, “The time has come to make 
Christmas gifts, of course.” 

Mark said to Uncle Phil in a whisper that 
he wanted him to come down to the farm 
and see what he was making for the Twins. 
Father said, 

“Christmas secrets are in the air, 

Christmas magic is everywhere.” 

Those were busy days, for every one and 
the wonderful trunk was often opened and 
every one was so intent on the making 
of Christmas gifts for Mother and Aunt 
Matilda that they thought very little about 
themselves. 

Then one day there came a mysterious 
letter. 

The Twins tore open the envelope eagerly 
and out came a check for twenty-six dollars, 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


97 


and a piece of paper saying, “I am the Bad 
Little Boy who found and kept your money 
so long. I send it back with interest of one 
dollar, and I hope you w ill excuse me. I wish 
you a Merry Christmas.” 

“Mysterious,” said Nan. 

“Very mysterious,” said Ann. 

“Altogether too mysterious,” said Mark. 

Uncle Phil said, “How will you ever find 
the Bad Little Boy to thank him?” 

How indeed could they find him? 

The Expressman you know is very busy at 
this time of year and wasn’t it exciting that 
he should come at this very hour, with the 
long delayed box from Mother and Aunt 
Matilda! 

Everybody wanted to help open it at once, 
and everybody wanted to talk at once, and 
up flew the lid and out came lovely gifts for. 


98 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


everybody. Even Sammy Slow-Coach was 
remembered. 

Mother wrote a Merry Christmas letter, 
and Aunt Matilda wrote a Merry Christmas 
letter, and every one was very, very merry. 

Slowly the winter passed, with many hard 
days. 

Father felt worse and it put him in a 
gloomy mood, and Mark got a sliver in his 
foot and walked lame, and no letter came 
from Mother, though they were looking for 
one, and the Twins all of a sudden felt as 
though they would explode. They cried, 
“Work, and work, and work and no fun any¬ 
where.” 

Just then, Sammy Slow-Coach came along 
and he was always good natured. He saw 
things seemed to be going wrong in the Little 
Log House, so he said, “Something pleasant 
will come to you—all I reckon, for to-morrow 
will be Valentine’s Day.” 



NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


99 


“Valentine’s Day!” shouted the Twins. 
“We had forgotten all about Valentine’s 
Day. We must sit down at once and make 
some Valentines.” 



They had plenty of bright paper, and pic¬ 
tures, and paste, and made pretty valentines. 

At last, the Twins said, “We now have ten 
valentines to send and we wonder how many 
we will get to-morrow.” 





100 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


They never thought of one person who 
would send them a valentine and they never 
thought of the words that would be written 
upon it, instead of a verse. 

The Twins received many valentines next 
day.. They all had a happy day and every¬ 
thing began to come out right. Father was 
able to take a few steps for the first time and 
declared that he would soon be well, and 
Mark won the prize on a plan he had drawn, 
and Sammy Slow-Coach brought a long yellow 
envelope in, that contained a fortune. 

You never could guess what good luck 
came in the long, yellow envelope. In the 
envelope was a letter that said oil had been 
struck on Father’s land out west. 

“What does it mean?” said Father. “All 
our good luck comes at once.” “What does 
it mean?” asked Mark. “It means that we 
can all go back to our own home and hire a 
special train and go and get Mother home.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


101 


“Mother home, Mother home,” shouted the 
Twins, and they danced a hornpipe. 

They had a merry time planning to move 
back into the farm house. 

They decided to move back the very first 
day that Father felt able. 

Father said, “I am thankful for my thrifty 
children. We never could have gotten along 
so well I am sure if we had not all been 
thrifty and all pulled together. It is a fine 
lesson anyway that we have learned to save. 
It helps us and we can teach other people, 
too.” 

Mark said, “We have learned to save our 
money, health, clothes and energy, and to be 
happy in doing our duty.” The Twins said, 
“We never would have learned all these les¬ 
sons without Fairy Thrift, and we are going 
to keep right on our way to Thrift Town. 
We have not yet formed all the Thrift Habits 






. 














































NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


103 


we can and we have not worked out many 
Thrift Problems.” 

A letter came from Mother saying, “I will 
be home the first of April and Great Aunt 
Matilda will come with me.” 

They were all happy you may be sure, and 
cried, “That settles it, we shall certainly move 
back home before the first of April.” 

Father said as they had kept all their 
troubles from Mother, they would not write 
of the good fortune either, but keep that as 
a fine surprise when she got home. 

Just then they heard the “Tinkle, tinkle, 
tinkle” of the telephone and Father called, 
“Come, answer the telephone, please.” 

Nan was first at the telephone and she 
heard Uncle Phil say, “I just called up to tell 
Father I have been promoted to a better posi¬ 
tion.” He added, “Luck and Pluck will win 


104 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


the game.” He said he would soon be over, 
and take the Twins for a hike. 

When Uncle Phil came in, he said he 
wanted some paper bags. Nan said, “I have 
some saved,” and when he wanted some string 
Ann said, “I saved some yesterday,” he 
laughed and said, ‘‘You must have been to 
Thrift Town.” 

He went on, 

“Good advice once I gave, 

Form a habit now to save; 

If you do a thing, it’s true, 

Easier the next time to do.” 

Uncle Phil said, ‘‘Long ago I formed the 
habit of being cheerful and so I smile, and 
joke, and sing, every day rain or shine.” 

Father and Mark always loved to have 
Uncle Phil come, because he was so happy, 
and the Twins could hardly wait when they 
knew he was coming, for they loved his 
merry jokes. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


105 


They had saved some wax paper for their 
lunch, and they had saved their Fourth of 
July lunch baskets, and soon they were ready 
to start. 

Father said, “Be sure to have an adven¬ 
ture.” 

Mark said, “Be sure to save something to 
bring home.” 

They started out merrily, but soon Ann 
said, “Why, Uncle Phil, this is not the road 
to the woods, this road leads to the back of 
our own farm.” 

Nan said, “Why, Uncle Phil, we are going 
the wrong way.” 

Uncle Phil said, “What funny notions you 
Twins have!” Then he added with a twinkle 
in his merry eyes, “Who is to put this farm 
in order inside and out, if we do not do it? 
I let Mark into the secret and soon he will 
join us, but we really must think of saving 


106 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


the fruit trees, we must give them some sup¬ 
port and spray them to keep off insects and 
we must, set out new trees, too, this spring.” 

The Twins entered into the spirit of it all 
and said, “We will play a Thrift Game with 
you and we think you are awfully good and 
kind to help us.” 

Uncle Phil said, 

“Think a while before we commence, 

Who will think to mend the fence?” 

They had to mend the fences so the ani¬ 
mals would not get out and Uncle Phil re¬ 
minded the children when we save animals 
we save food. He said they must plan to 
save animals, fruits, nuts, vegetables and 
plants. 

When it came time for lunch Uncle Phil 
had a real surprise for them. He had a long, 
narrow bundle and suggested that they all 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


107 


cut the strings. They did so, and took out 
a big out-door umbrella. They shouted, 

“Uncle Phil you’re a jolly fellow, 

Hurrah, hurrah for the big umbrella.” 

They set the umbrella on a stand and piled 
boxes around it for a feast. They had big 
appetites for it was fun they always thought 
to eat out doors. 

They threw crumbs to the birds and said, 
“It is so good to be home again and so good 
to have spring come.” 

Just then the Griswold Twins and Eager 
Ed and Thoughtless Ted came by and 
stopped to see what the Twins were doing. 
They wanted to sit under the wonderful big 
umbrella, too. 

Next, Uncle Phil mixed some paint and 
they all went to work with a will and paint¬ 
ed the fence. 



. II. 




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There in the Kitchen Stood a Big Fat Mammy 



















































































































































































































NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


109 


Nan and Ann said, “We will have to get 
supper when we get back to the Little Log 
House, for once we wish we had a colored 
Mammy for a cook.” 

They did not know that a surprise awaited 
them. 

They did not know that there was a real 
old Mammy cooking at this very minute in 
the Little Log House! 

They cried out with surprise when they 
got home and found a table set and there 
was a smell like supper cooking hot. There 
in the kitchen, stood a big fat Mammy, a 
real colored cook! 

Father explained that Mother and Aunt 
Matilda were coming next week and they had 
§0111 their own cook Aunt Rachel ahead of 
them as she had a friend coming to the next 
farm. 


110 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


Aunt Rachel called every one “Honey" and 
she stirred up this dish and that dish, and 
made everything taste delicious. 

She wore a kerchief and red bandana on 
her head. 

Aunt Rachel was ready to help them all 
move next day. 

The Twins said, “Father, we will tell you 
what we did today.” Father was pleased 
and said, “I believe Uncle Phil put you up 
to it.” 

My! what a fine supper they had! 

My! how they enjoyed Aunt Rachel’s 
cooking! 

My! what appetites they had from work¬ 
ing out doors! 

How good it seemed next morning to have 
someone get up early and get breakfast ready 
and every one was happy at the prospect of 
getting home. 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


111 


Did you ever take part in moving day? 

Did you ever help in moving? 

Everything was excitement and confusion 
and Sammy Slow-Coach and Mark packed 
things in the old lumber wagon, and Father 
and Uncle Phil planned that it would be best 
to move and fix up one room at a time, so 
they worked together all day long. 

“We shall always love the Little Log House 
anyway,” said the Twins, “but we are glad to 
he home again.” 

“It does seem fine to see you all at home 
again and Father with a new fortune and 
getting well into the bargain, and here is 
Aunt Rachel to cook for us and we all have 
been so thrifty we should have, I think, now 
one grand holiday, for, 


“All work and no play. 
Makes a grumbler every day.” 


112 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


“What shall we do on our holiday, have 
a picnic?” suggested the Twins. 

“Have a dance,” said Mark. 

“Have a party,” said Father. 

Susy-Save-A-Bit suggested that they have 
a pot luck supper, and Betty-Behind-Hand 
suggested they take a tramp in the woods. 

Uncle Phil said, “Not one of you has 
guessed what we had better do for SOME¬ 
THING is coming to town!” 

“A circus, a circus, a circus is coming,” 
shouted the Twins. 

They said, “We read the signs and we 
know a circus is coming. “Greatest show on 
earth, fourteen elephants,” said Mark laugh¬ 
ing. “Living statuary,” shouted the Twins. 
“Oh, Uncle Phil, do please take us to the 
circus. Do promise that we can go to the 
circus.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


113 


“Well,” said Uncle Phil, “Every one get 
busy now and count your money for a ticket 
for each one with a reserved seat is seventy- 
five cents.” 

As luck would have it, every one had saved 
at least seventy-five cents except Betty, and 
Susy said she would lend her enough for her 
ticket. 

Uncle Phil loved to surprise everybody, 
so suddenly without a single bit of warning 
he shook his coat pocket and out came a 
shower of circus tickets for Father and Mark 
and the Twins and all their little friends! 
Out came more and more tickets and the 
Twins cried, “Hurrah, Hurrah! Oh Uncle 
Phil, where did all these tickets come from? 
How did you get all these tickets? Please 
tell us the story?” He said, 

“Well, I was walking along and I thought 
one day last week, 

“Something pleasant will happen to-day, 
Something good will come my way. 



V 



























NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


115 


Sure enough something pleasant happened 
very soon and something good came, too. I 
heard a great scolding and grumbling and 
I heard a man say, “Never saw such luck in 
my life, no land to rent, no place to pitch a 
tent, no way to encourage a circus to come 
to town.” I drew closer and met the ad¬ 
vance agent of the circus. I remembered I 
had a big lot close to town and in less time 
than it takes to tell it, I rented the lot and 
got a roll of money and all the circus tickets 
I wanted.” 

“Hurrah, hurrah,” for the circus. "Hurrah, 
hurrah for Uncle Phil,” cried the Twins. 
“Hurrah, hurrah, we can all go to the circus 
to-morrow.” 

They were truly so excited they could 
hardly sleep that night and they telephoned 
Betty’s mother and Susy’s mother and begged 
that the children be allowed to stay all night 


116 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


so they could start together early next day 
to the circus. 

They telephoned the Griswold Twins and 
Eager Ed and Thoughtless Ted to be ready 
to go with them, too. 

Uncle Phil said as they had all saved the 
price of a ticket they could have that money 
with them to buy peanuts and red lemonade. 

Nan and Ann woke early next day and 
whispered a while before they got up and 
at breakfast they said, “The children in the 
orphan asylum in town do not get much fun 
and if we all put our 75 cent pieces together 
we can invite them to go to the circus, too!” 

Uncle Phil said this was a splendid idea 
and he would telephone so the children could 
be ready to meet them all at the gate. 

Nan and Ann giggled and said, “Just 
think of our heading an orphan asylum pro¬ 
cession! but it was really fun for all the 








118 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


children were waiting with eager, happy 
faces. 

The day was hot. Did you ever know a 
circus day that was not hot? The crowds 
were great. Did you ever know a circus 
without a big, noisy crowd? 

The old band played and the old caliope 
tooted and the horses rode round the ring, 
and the trapeze performers were wonderful. 
One lady dressed in all white satin rode a 
white horse and the children thought they 
were in Fairyland. 

There w r as Living Statuary and there were 
cute little ponies, performing elephants, and 
a dancing bear, and the circus was all that 
any one living could wish to see, and the red 
lemonade and peanuts and popcorn were 
enjoyed by all. 

All the rest of the spring the little boys 
played circus and the girls wished they could 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


119 


wear white satin dresses, and ride white 
horses, and have white doves light upon them 
as the lady did in the circus. 

Fairy Thrift said to the Twins: 

“Nan and Ann it is really funny, 

What you can do about saving money, 
There’s a time to save and a time to spend. 
If you’re thrifty you’ll help a friend.” 

The little children from the orphan asylum 
sent a letter of thanks and everybody re¬ 
membered that happy circus day. 

There came a letter from Mother, too, 
“Home now in five days.” “Home sooner 
than that,” shouted the Twins for it took 
the letter several days to reach them. Father 
said, “How happy we will be to have Mother 
home again, and how glad we are she does 
not know any of our troubles.” 

My! what busy days followed! 

The Twins said, “We wonder what train 
Mother will come in on, but we will surely 


120 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


hear from her again so we can meet her. 
We wonder too, what Aunt Matilda will be 
like.” 

Mother did write again but her letter was 
delayed and so it turned out that Mother and 
Aunt Matilda surprised them after all, but 
it was nothing to the surprise that Mother 
and Aunt Matilda had themselves, so a whole 
chapter of surprise had to await everybody. 


CHAPTER VI. 


HOME AGAIN—A CHAPTER OF 
SURPRISES 

The trunks in Aunt Matilda’s garret were 
in a great state of excitement for the steamer 
trunk had been chosen for Aunt Matilda’s 
journey. “It will be nothing like the ocean 
trip,” it said, “Still, a trip is a trip, and I 
do hope we will have an exciting journey.” 

“Good bye, good bye,” called the trunks in 
happy chorus. “Thump, thump,” the trunk 
was bumped down the stairs and the excit¬ 
ing time of packing began. 

“Shall I take this? Shall I take that?” 
asked Aunt Matilda. She was a little ex¬ 
cited herself for she had not gone on a jour¬ 
ney for years. 


121 


122 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


At last, the day came for them to start and 
Mother was happy as could be. She said, “I 
do wonder if the Twins have changed in any 
way so I can tell them apart?” 

It was such a wonderful sunny day that 
Mother did not dream anything would come 
to mar their pleasure, but they had only rid¬ 
den a few hours, when Mother heard a voice 
say, “Excuse me Ma’am but do you remember 
me? I used to live near your farm.” 

Reckless Red stood before her! 

It was Reckless Red of course who told 
about Father’s broken leg, and his failure 
with the crops, and the struggle the little 
family were having in The Little Log House. 

How unkind it was of Reckless Red to tell 
these things! Just imagine how Mother felt! 

Aunt Matilda was greatly upset too, and 
said, “Why did they keep all this a secret, 
the poor dears.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


123 


Mother felt as though she never could wait 
five days to reach her little family now and 
Aunt Matilda suggested that they send a 
wire. It was hard for them to think just 
how to word a telegram, and they finally 
decided to wire Uncle Phil in these words, 
“Wire us the truth about the family.” 

His reply was, “Everybody fine, all went 
to the circus.” Then, Mother dried her eyes 
and said, “there must have been some stupid 
mistake for a man with a broken leg would 
not have gone to the circus.” Mother did 
worry a little though on the way home, and 
Aunt Matilda said, “Whatever is—is best,” 
so Mother tried hard to cheer up at the 
thought of getting home once more. 

The train with Mother upon it, was com¬ 
ing nearer and nearer. Mother said to Aunt 
Matilda, “What could Reckless Red have 
meant? What does Uncle Phil’s telegram 


124 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


mean? How could Father have possibly 
broken his leg?” 

While they were talking Mrs. Brown and 
the Bad Little Boy who happened to be on 
the train recognized Mother and the Mrs. 
Brown said, “Have you heard the good news 
from home?” 

“Good news?” said mother. 

“Did you say good news?” inquired Aunt 
Matilda. 

Mrs. Brown said, “Your husband had news 
he had struck oil, and of course it means a 
fortune.” 

“The letter with the good news must have 
missed us,” Mother said. Aunt Matilda 
said, “We are receiving a great deal of news 
to-day, but I guess we will know more facts 
when we arrive.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


125 


Mother said, “I suppose now, we must be 
patient, but I really hope we will have no 
more surprises until we get home.” 

Mother was mistaken about having no 
more surprises for Uncle Phil got on the 
train to meet them, and he was willing to 
answer all their question of course and they 
were very glad to see him. 

At home Nan and Ann put on their own 
home-made gingham dresses and their own 
made-over hats, and sat still a few minutes 
thinking, and all the time the train which 
carried Mother came nearer, and nearer. 

Did you ever watch a train come in, a long 
way off? Did you ever see it come nearer 
and nearer, carrying some one you loved 
in it? The train came in and stopped. Out 
got the passengers, and Mother and Aunt 
Matilda! 

The Twins said, “Oh Mother, we are so 
happy to have you at home again, oh Mother, 


126 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


we have had some trips too, and we have 
been to THRIFT TOWN this very day.” 

Aunt Matilda would look from one to the 
other and say, “Is that Ann talking now? Is 
this one Nan? Dear me, I shall never be able 
to tell the Twins apart.” 

Mother hugged every one all over again 
and said, “You dear, brave. Thrifty children 
to struggle on all winter in the Little Log 
House, why didn’t you let me come back 
home and help you?” 

Father said, “Mother, you have come home 
so strong and rosy we are all satisfied.” 

The Twins said, “Oh Mother, may we have 
supper to-night in the Little Log House, just 
for fun?” 

Aunt Matilda said, “A picnic supper in a 
Log House with fried chicken and oysters 
sounds delightful to me, I have not had a 
picnic supper for 105 years.” 


NAN AND ANN IN THRIFT TOWN 


127 


They all laughed while they trooped down 
to the Little Log House which they had left 
furnished enough for use, and Aunt Rachel 
fried chicken and Sammy Slow-Coach went 
to town for oysters, and they had a merry, 
merry time. 

Late that night when Mother tucked the 
Twins in bed they said, “Oh Mother, we are 
so happy to have you home again, we were 
so lonesome.” 

Mother kissed the Twins and said, “To tell 
the truth I was mighty lonesome without 
vou, too. I do not know it we can ever stand 
it to be separated again.” 







































































































































































































































































































